Mounir Moufarrige (L), Estrella Archs and Lindsay Lohan (R)

Moufarrige made headlines when he appointed the troubled Lindsay Lohan to a role as creative adviser for the French fashion house. Emanuel Ungaro, founder of the eponymous label, has not been involved in design since 2005, but recently voiced his displeasure calling the Lohan helmed collection a “disaster.”

Moufarrige denied reports of stores canceling orders and refusing to stock the collection, however many unnamed buyers were rumored to have declined invitations to the show due to Lohan’s involvement. Moufarrige pointed to the economy as the reason for the lack of sales.

The statement issued today makes no direct connection between Lohan’s appointment and Moufarrige’s ouster, with an Ungaro spokesperson citing a desire to focus on a watch and jewelry business as the former CEO’s official reason for stepping down. Lohan remains with the label, as does designer Estrella Archs.

Read more {Reuters}

To the surprise/horror of the fashion world, celebrity Lindsay Lohan will continue into the next runway season as artistic advisor for French fashion house Ungaro.

Rumor is that Lohan was brought on merely to generate publicity during the recession-driven economic slowdown, and publicity is certainly what Ungaro is getting — although not necessarily positive.  Reports show that Lohan’s debut collection is selling, albeit not as well as the company had hoped.

It’s easy to be cynical about Lohan’s collaboration and, although we’ll keep an open mind for next season, we’re certainly not expecting to be wowed.  (And we wonder how LiLo’s possible incarceration will work into the scenario: jailbird inspiration, anyone?)

Read the full story {Reuters}